Leona J. Luyks, M.Ed. holds a B.S.
in Health Science and an M.Ed in Public Health from University of
Nevada, Las Vegas and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Health
with a concentration in Community and School Health from Walden
University. She currently teaches Health in Las Vegas, NV as well as
online Health classes and splits her time between Las Vegas and Southern
California. Leona is the founder of Wellucation.

The American Holistic Health Association has compiled a collection of self-help articles to support your efforts to enhance your own health and well-being.

So many people go through life in an automatic fashion every day. You get up, go to work, come home late in the evening, have an hour or two to spend with family, go to bed and start the cycle all over again the next morning. Recently, many people have found themselves without a job or career due to economic conditions. What do you do with yourself? Is there something more? When you live your life on autopilot, dealing with present times and a job loss can be devastating. Few people take the time and make the effort to discover the meaning of their life, or the purpose for it.

To be truthful, most of us are entrenched in low-awareness living. We never slow down long enough to discover that there is something more in life than the typical day-in day-out existence we live. We have all seen people in the news on television who devote their time to helping or serving others, either through volunteering, peace missions, or even lending a helping hand during catastrophic events like recently witnessed with Hurricanesq Katrina and Sandy.

When we lose a job or something happens to disrupt our "automatic pilot" lives, it seems that everything comes to an abrupt stop. Those who search for the true meaning and purpose in their lives know that deep inside where it really counts, they get much more satisfaction and sense of self accomplishment by helping others. While we may believe we are in sad shape, it's easy to look around and see that comparatively speaking, our lives are in pretty darn good shape.

People are self-absorbed and tend to worry about "me". What if you were to turn things around, put your own feelings on the back burner, and focus your thoughts and efforts in a different direction? In times when economic issues drag you down and make you wonder how you will live, it often helps to increase your awareness and self-esteem by putting others first. When you see the dire situations that exist all around you, it's easier to realize that really, things aren't so bad.

How can you discover your real purpose in life? While it may sound like an impossible or difficult task, it's actually very easy. If you have any negative thoughts in your mind that finding your purpose is a waste of time or idiotic, you will have a hard time. Leave yourself open to the process and expect it to work, and it will. People have a hard time believing that you can attract what you desire to your own life, but when you expect success and are open to it completely, things can change in ways you never expected.

Some people believe that you are born pre-disposed to a certain purpose in your life, and that you just need to sit down and contemplate what that purpose is. Sounds easy, but in reality it's far from easy to do that. An easier way to figure out what the purpose for your life is can be done by writing down a few things - yes, writing.

On a blank piece of paper or on your computer, write the question "What is my real purpose in life?" at the top.

Now, start writing answers. They don't have to be long answers, just anything that pops in to your mind. Don't sit and take a while to think about it; if it comes in to your mind, write it down right then. Keep repeating this step until you finally write something down that is so revealing that it makes you cry. When you get to that point, it's likely you have found your purpose in life.

Depending on how little "life awareness" you have been living with, it could take several hundred answers until you find the true meaning and purpose for your life. If you have been deeply entrenched living your life in the same rut for years, it will take you longer to reach your answer. When you do, you will know it because it feels as though it's coming from somewhere deep within you that is different from your memories or your conscious mind.

You might get discouraged or even impatient going through this process, but it will work. You may even hit upon answers you wrote down that will evoke a certain emotion, but until you reach that gut-wrenching answer that brings on the tears, you haven't quite dug deep enough yet.

Finding your true meaning and purpose in life, especially in the tough times we are currently experiencing, isn't easy. It's not a "sit down and think about it for 10 minutes" kind of deal.

Once you practice the exercise above, you may discover that your true calling is to play music for elderly people in nursing homes. You may want to dedicate your time and volunteer at your local hospital. It could be that your true purpose is taking on a child through the Big Brother and Big Sister programs. Maybe visiting children who have cancer and giving them moral support is your purpose. Giving feels good; knowing that you have helped someone in much worse shape than you are by brightening their day is extremely rewarding.

To really fulfill yourself and realize that there is much more to life than what we all experience on a day-to-day basis, give of yourself and your time. Life is too short to live in a routine that doesn't include giving of ourselves to others. When you can uplift someone else, make them smile or even laugh, you have really accomplished something. When you help other people feel good about themselves, it's contagious - and even if times are tough in your own personal life, you may find that you feel better mentally and spiritually than you have in years.